Republicans not letting up on NLRB

Congressional Republicans are still on the attack against the National Labor Relations Board – even though the agency dropped a case against Boeing that had become a rallying cry for conservatives.

A clearly unsatisfied Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of the loudest congressional critics of the NLRB, on Friday called for an investigation into the labor board. And Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who had subpoenaed the board for information on the NLRB-Boeing fight, said Friday that his House Oversight and Government Reform Committee wouldn’t halt the investigation and instead continue to seek information into the labor board’s actions.

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“NLRB’s record of rogue action and lack of transparency with the public and Congress in this case – and in others – has raised serious questions that remain unanswered,” Issa said in a statement.

Earlier Friday, the NLRB announced that the dispute between it and Boeing had officially ended – a move that was widely expected after a Boeing Machinists union voted earlier this week to approve a four-year extension of its contract.

The battle began in April, when the labor board sued Boeing after the company decided to move a plant from Washington state – where union strikes had halted production of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft – to South Carolina, a right-to-work state.

The NLRB had said Boeing was retaliating against the union for the strikes, and the company had denounced the legal complaint as “legally frivolous” and a “radical departure” from board and Supreme Court precedents.

But on Friday, the fight – at least between the NLRB and Boeing – seemed to end.

“I am pleased that the collective bargaining process has succeeded and that the parties have begun a promising new chapter in their relationship,” said NLRB acting general counsel Lafe Solomon.

Added Boeing in a statement: “We have maintained from the outset that the complaint was without merit and that the best course of action would be for it to be dropped. Today that happened.”

But between congressional Republicans and the NLRB is another matter.

Graham said a congressional investigation was necessary because he had “disturbing questions” whether the labor board — which is supposed to be an independent agency — had worked with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union against Boeing.

As for Issa, he noted that the labor board had cited the ongoing legal dispute as a reason that the NLRB hadn’t handed over certain information to the Oversight Committee.

“Now that that is no longer the case, it is incumbent on NLRB to expeditiously hand over all documents and materials required as part of the Committee’s investigation,” he added.